Indicators of Integration Framework and Toolkit

Contact details

Submitted by: Elaine Gaskell, International Lead, Resettlement Asylum Support and Integration, UK Government

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-indicators-of-integration-framework-2019

Introduction to the project 

Country

United Kingdom

Duration

The project started in 2018, with the framework and accompanying toolkit published on 3 June 2019.

A training programme to support use of the framework is ongoing.

Description

The Indicators of Integration Framework and Toolkit builds on and replaces the original 2004 version of the framework (Ager & Strang, 2004), which had a specific focus on refugee integration and was informed by research involving a cross section of refugees, host communities, civil societies, academics, local and central government as well as international academic and policy literature. The original framework, however, was utilised in a much broader range of local, national and international contexts than originally anticipated.

Project aims 

The new version of Indicators of Integration is intended to be a tool to help plan integration interventions at local or national levels, and to promote and measure integration in a broad range of diverse contexts. The indicator set can contribute to the measurement of the experiences of any group of people whose integration into communities or society is of concern.

This new version benefits from a growing body of research and expertise and reflects broader societal changes such as the increasing reliance on technology by the addition of a new domain of indicators (Digital Skills).

An accompanying toolkit is published alongside the framework providing greater detail on how to use the measures to collect data with a specified population which will be comparable to that which is available in the public domain for larger representative samples.

The framework is designed for use by a broad range of practitioners and policy makers whose activities have the potential to influence integration.  The framework and indicators are for anyone seeking to develop successful interventions for and increase their understanding of integration.  The 14 domains of integration identified in the framework offers an evidence-based approach to design, implement and measure the success of practical interventions. Each domain is linked with a comprehensive set of measures of both outcome and appropriate action.

Resources used 

The framework and toolkit were jointly funded by the UK government and AMIF.

Main activities of the Good Practice

Enhance refugee self-reliance by informing the planning and evaluation of integration interventions at local or national levels.

Partners

The 2019 Indicators of Integration framework was developed by the UK Government’s Home Office, and part funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), working with:

• academics from institutions across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (Queen Margaret University, University of Birmingham, University of Sussex and Ulster University);
• other government departments;
• local authorities;
• regional Strategic Migration Partnerships;
• non-governmental organisations (NGOs);
• local service providers from across the UK’s four regions
• refugees; and
• the International Organization for Migration.

Challenges and how they were overcome

Key challenges included:

• managing a very wide range of stakeholders with differing resources/perspectives to agree on the key indicators;
• developing a tool kit that will be flexible and practical enough to inform the development of strategies, intervention and evaluation programme; and
• building in practical examples that will meet the needs of different stakeholders
• ensuring the development of indicators that can be applicable at local, national and international levels to facilitate meaningful comparison

How they were overcome: 

• Meaningful consultation with all key stakeholders to design project
• Regular meetings and workshop to agree next steps
• Building in key priorities across sectors
• Consultations at local, regional, national and international levels at all phases of projects
• Active inclusion of migrants and migrant organisations as key stakeholders throughout the project
• Creation and facilitation of working group representing all key stakeholders to steer project

Results of the Good Practice 

The 2019 Framework and Toolkit is a resource for integration practitioners, providing a common language for understanding planning, monitoring and evaluating integration.

It enables practitioners to:

• plan and implement effective, research-informed interventions suited to the needs of the people they work with
• evaluate interventions, collecting data which can inform the future development and sharing of best practice

Currently, over 45 local authorities in the UK have attended training, delivered with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), designed to build capacity to use the resources contained in the framework and toolkit. This will benefit refugees and host communities across the UK.

Next steps 

The UK Government is working with the International Organisation of Migration to deliver training to local authorities and third sector organisations in the UK on the use of the 2019 framework.